GOALKEEPERS #50 Dr. Peter KUNTER (b. 1941) Germany, Goalkeeper Cup winner 1974, 1975 The flying dentist was known for his quick reflexes on the goalline and managed to stop 10 penalties in his time playing for Frankfurt. Kunter's performances in 1970-71 were crucial for the club to avoid relegation. Wearing contact lenses, he found it difficult to play in floodlight. He was part of the squad for the 1972 European championship as third goalkeeper, but stayed at home ready to join the tea, on demand if need be. With 1.76 metres he was too small to genuinely compete in the national team. 1961-62 - - FC Freiburg (Div. 2) 1962-63 - - FC Freiburg (Div. 2) 1963-64 37 0 FC Freiburg (Div. 2) 1964-65 32 0 FC Freiburg (Div. 2) 1965-66 25 0 Eintracht Frankfurt (BL) 1966-67 24 0 Eintracht Frankfurt (BL) 1967-68 8 0 Eintracht Frankfurt (BL) 1968-69 20 0 Eintracht Frankfurt (BL) 1969-70 30 0 Eintracht Frankfurt (BL) 1970-71 26 0 Eintracht Frankfurt (BL) 1971-72 32 0 Eintracht Frankfurt (BL) 1972-73 31 0 Eintracht Frankfurt (BL) 1973-74 17 0 Eintracht Frankfurt (BL) 1974-75 13 0 Eintracht Frankfurt (BL) 1975-76 8 0 Eintracht Frankfurt (BL) #49 Fritz BUCHLOH (1909-1998) 17 A, Germany, Goalkeeper Another goalkeeper that initially was an outfield player who only became a goalkeeper due to an injury of the actual keeper. In goal, Fritz Buchloh convinced with his outstanding reliability and
exceptional positional play. Although he played for second division Speldorf he was called up for the national team in December 1932. He was Germany's third goalkeeper at the 1934 World Cup behind Willibald Kress and Hans Jakob without travelling to Italy as he remained on demand at home. Senior clubs 1927-38 - - Speldorf (Div. 2) 1938-39 - - Hertha BSC 1939-40 15 0 SW Essen 1940-41 3 0 SW Essen 1941-45 - - SW Essen #48 Rudolf (Rudi) WIMMER (b. 1944) Germany, Goalkeeper A spectacular flyer with excellent reflexes but of below average height and thus never considered for the absolute top level during his time. Rudi Wimmer spent his professional career in Offenbach and Karlsruhe, two clubs that only occasionally played in the first division, he could have had a career of bigger impact had he not declined so many offers from bigger clubs during the 1970s. 1965-66 4 0 Kickers Offenback (Div. 2) 1966-67 22 0 Kickers Offenback (Div. 2) 1967-68 17 0 Kickers Offenback (Div. 2) 1968-69 34 0 Kickers Offenbach (BL) 1969-70 25 0 Karlsruhe (Div. 2) 1970-71 36 0 Karlsruhe (Div. 2) 1971-72 16 0 Karlsruhe (Div. 2) 1972-73 29 0 Karlsruhe (Div. 2) 1973-74 33 0 Karlsruhe (Div. 2) 1974-75 38 0 Karlsruhe (Div. 2) 1975-76 23 0 Karlsruhe (BL) 1976-77 34 0 Karlsruhe (BL) 1977-78 29 0 Karlsruhe (Div. 2) 1978-79 36 0 Karlsruhe (Div. 2) 1979-80 39 0 Karlsruhe (Div. 2) 1980-81 34 0 Karlsruhe (BL) 1981-82 28 0 Karlsruhe (BL) 1982-83 32 0 Karlsruhe (BL)
#47 Theodor (Teddy) LOHRMANN (1898-1971) 3 A, Germany, Goalkeeper League champion 1924, 1926 League runner-up 1925 Cup winner 1924, 1925, 1926 Cup finalist 1927 Hugely varied allrounder who apart from football also engaged in rugby, tennis, handball and water polo (in this sport he was also an international). The huge Lohrmann was known for impressively long punts, his energetic interceptions, always willing to take risks and not least because of his ball catching ability and his mastering of goalkeeping inside the penalty box. He was a fierce competitor of Nürnberg's Heiner Stuhlfauth, however when he joined ASV Vienna in 1923, becoming a professional there, his international career for Germany was finished because the German FA did not accept professionals in its ranks. After his career he settled in Switzerland and among other things became the tennis trainer of the Rothschild bankier family. 1920-21 17 0 SpVgg Fürth (Div. 1 North Bavaria) 1921-22 17 0 SpVgg Fürth (Div. 1 North Bavaria) 1922-23 18 0 SpVgg Fürth (Div. 1 North Bavaria) 1923-24 22 0 ASV Wien (Austria) 1924-25 14 0 ASV Wien (Austria) 1925-26 18 0 ASV Wien (Austria) 1926-27 4 0 ASV Wien (Austria) #46 Heinz KUBSCH (1930-1993) 3 A, Germany, Goalkeeper Had his first team debut aged 17 in 1947 and quickly became a starter in the following months due to his adroit reflexes. A reserved and downhome carpenter by profession who was together with Helmut Kapitulski one of the heroes of the FK Pirmasens side that won three successive
championships in the German South-Western league between 1958 and 1960. Legend has it that once after having celebrated his birthday the next morning he ran into Germany manager Sepp Herberger, still smelling of alcohol, which apparently was considerably detrimental to his international ambitions. 1948-49 24 0 Katernberg (Div. 1 West) 1949-50 - - Katernberg (Div. 2) 1950-51 30 0 Katernberg (Div. 2) 1951-52 28 0 Katernberg (Div. 2) 1952-53 30 0 Katernberg (Div. 2) 1953-54 30 0 Pirmasens (Div. 1 Southwest) 1954-55 27 0 Pirmasens (Div. 1 Southwest) 1955-56 27 0 Pirmasens (Div. 1 Southwest) 1956-57 30 0 Pirmasens (Div. 1 Southwest) 1957-58 30 0 Pirmasens (Div. 1 Southwest) 1958-59 28 0 Pirmasens (Div. 1 Southwest) 1959-60 21 0 Pirmasens (Div. 1 Southwest) 1960-61 29 0 Pirmasens (Div. 1 Southwest) #45 Gerhard HEINZE (b. 1948) Germany, goalkeeper One of the smallest goalkeepers of the Bundesliga, Heinze was a classic example of a goalkeeper who excelled with his reflexes on the goalline but struggled a little bit when he had to leave his goal. In spite of very good performances as a goalkeeper he was never fully undisputed due to his lack of height. Despite these shortcomings, he was a regular starter in goal over the course of 15 consecutive professional seasons. 1967-68 3 0 VfB Stuttgart (BL) 1968-69 33 0 VfB Stuttgart (BL) 1969-70 26 0 VfB Stuttgart (BL) 1970-71 30 0 VfB Stuttgart (BL) 1971-72 12 0 VfB Stuttgart (BL) 1972-73 29 0 VfB Stuttgart (BL) 1973-74 33 0 VfB Stuttgart (BL) 1974-75 27 0 VfB Stuttgart (BL) 1975-76 23 0 Duisburg (BL) 1976-77 32 0 Duisburg (BL) 1977-78 31 0 Duisburg (BL) 1978-79 26 0 Duisburg (BL) 1979-80 33 0 Duisburg (BL) 1980-81 31 0 Duisburg (BL) 1981-82 29 0 Duisburg (BL) 1982-83 30 0 Duisburg (Div. 2)
#44 Gerald (Gerry) EHRMANN (b. 1959) Germany, Goalkeeper League champion 1978, 1991 League runner-up 1982, 1994 Cup winner 1978, 1983, 1990, 1996 Cup finalist 1980 In his first seven seasons Gerry Ehrmann was the reserve goalkeeper behind Harald Schumacher at Köln. In 1984 he joined Kaiserslautern where he replaced Swedish legend Ronnie Hellström and remained K lautern s keeper for the next ten years. An impulsive, highly emotional goalkeeper with an imposing physical presence (his hobby was bodybuilding) who guarded his goal without taking any prisoners. 1977-78 0 0 Köln (BL) 1978-79 0 0 Köln (BL) 1979-80 0 0 Köln (BL) 1980-81 0 0 Köln (BL) 1981-82 0 0 Köln (BL) 1982-83 1 0 Köln (BL) 1983-84 1 0 Köln (BL) 1984-85 30 0 1. FC Kaiserslautern (BL) 1985-86 30 0 1. FC Kaiserslautern (BL) 1986-87 33 0 1. FC Kaiserslautern (BL) 1987-88 17 0 1. FC Kaiserslautern (BL) 1988-89 33 0 1. FC Kaiserslautern (BL) 1989-90 21 0 1. FC Kaiserslautern (BL) 1990-91 33 0 1. FC Kaiserslautern (BL) 1991-92 38 0 1. FC Kaiserslautern (BL) 1992-93 19 0 1. FC Kaiserslautern (BL) 1993-94 27 0 1. FC Kaiserslautern (BL) 1994-95 10 0 1. FC Kaiserslautern (BL) 1995-96 1 0 1. FC Kaiserslautern (BL) 1996-97 9 0 1. FC Kaiserslautern (Div. 2) #43
Oliver RECK (b. 1965) 1 A, Germany, Goalkeeper League champion 1988, 1993 League runner-up 1995 Cup winner 1991, 1994, 2001, 2002 Cup finalist 1989, 1990 CWC winner 1992 Euro winner 1996 A relatively good goalkeeper but unfortunately regularly prone to odd blunders. In his youth Oliver Reck was known as an excellent goalkeeper with fast reflexes and a good control of the box but on the highest level he lacked the necessary consistency that a great goalkeeper absolutely needs. 1983-84 14 0 Kickers Offenbach (BL) 1984-85 38 0 Kickers Offenbach (Div. 2) 1985-86 0 0 Bremen (BL) 1986-87 0 0 Bremen (BL) 1987-88 32 0 Bremen (BL) 1988-89 34 0 Bremen (BL) 1989-90 32 0 Bremen (BL) 1990-91 34 0 Bremen (BL) 1991-92 32 0 Bremen (BL) 1992-93 32 0 Bremen (BL) 1993-94 30 0 Bremen (BL) 1994-95 32 0 Bremen (BL) 1995-96 20 0 Bremen (BL) 1996-97 34 0 Bremen (BL) 1997-98 33 0 Bremen (BL) 1998-99 18 0 FC Schalke 04 (BL) 1999-00 25 0 FC Schalke 04 (BL) 2000-01 33 0 FC Schalke 04 (BL) 2001-02 34 1 FC Schalke 04 (BL) 2002-03 2 0 FC Schalke 04 (BL) #42 Raimond (Balu) AUMANN (b. 1963) 4 A, Germany, Goalkeeper League champion 1981, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1994, 1995 League runner-up 1988, 1991, 1993 Cup winner 1982, 1984, 1986 Cup finalist 1985 Champions Cup finalist 1987 World Cup winner 1990 A highly-talented yet not remarkably tall goalkeeper with very quick reflexes. Very strong on the goalline, not so much at leaving his goal. At Bayern, Aumann spent many years as the back-up of Jean-Marie Pfaff.
1980-81 0 0 Bayern München (BL) 1981-82 0 0 Bayern München (BL) 1982-83 0 0 Bayern München (BL) 1983-84 0 0 Bayern München (BL) 1984-85 20 0 Bayern München (BL) 1985-86 11 0 Bayern München (BL) 1986-87 0 0 Bayern München (BL) 1987-88 9 0 Bayern München (BL) 1988-89 34 0 Bayern München (BL) 1989-90 33 0 Bayern München (BL) 1990-91 32 0 Bayern München (BL) 1991-92 13 0 Bayern München (BL) 1992-93 32 0 Bayern München (BL) 1993-94 32 0 Bayern München (BL) 1994-95 33 0 Besiktas (Turkey) 1995-96 8 0 Besiktas (Turkey) #41 Uwe KAMPS (b. 1964) Germany, Goalkeeper Cup winner 1995 Cup finalist 1984, 1992 Not a tall goalkeeper, Uwe Kamps was Borussia Mönchengladbach s no. 1 goalkeeper for almost 15 successive seasons. During his time he was sometimes disputed but in the end managed to fight off all competitors, most notably Dirk Heyne and Robert Enke. A calm and confident goalkeeper whose strengths were clearly on the goalline. Kamps had a reputation as a very good penalty stopper after he saved four penalties in a 1992 German Cup semi final. 1982-83 12 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (BL) 1983-84 2 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (BL) 1984-85 0 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (BL) 1985-86 1 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (BL) 1986-87 31 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (BL) 1987-88 34 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (BL) 1988-89 34 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (BL) 1989-90 34 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (BL) 1990-91 28 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (BL) 1991-92 38 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (BL) 1992-93 19 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (BL) 1993-94 25 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (BL) 1994-95 34 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (BL) 1995-96 29 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (BL) 1996-97 34 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (BL) 1997-98 34 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (BL) 1998-99 0 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (BL) 1999-00 34 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (Div. 2)
2000-01 33 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (Div. 2) 2001-02 0 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (BL) 2002-03 0 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (BL) 2003-04 1 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (BL) #40 Günter BERNARD (b. 1939) 5 A, Germany, Goalkeeper League Champion 1965 League runner-up 1968 World cup finalist 1966 A goalkeeper of relatively small stature who made this more than up with his great reflexes and his commanding presence. 1958-59 2 0 Schweinfurt (Div. 1 South) 1959-60 1 0 Schweinfurt (Div. 1 South) 1960-61 24 0 Schweinfurt (Div. 1 South) 1961-62 15 0 Schweinfurt (Div. 1 South) 1962-63 30 1 Schweinfurt (Div. 1 South) 1963-64 15 0 Bremen (BL) 1964-65 30 0 Bremen (BL) 1965-66 34 0 Bremen (BL) 1966-67 27 0 Bremen (BL) 1967-68 31 0 Bremen (BL) 1968-69 25 0 Bremen (BL) 1969-70 31 0 Bremen (BL) 1970-71 33 0 Bremen (BL) 1971-72 33 0 Bremen (BL) 1972-73 28 0 Bremen (BL) 1973-74 0 0 Bremen (BL) #39
Wilhelm (Willy) JÜRISSEN (1912-1990) 6 A, Germany, Goalkeeper League runner-up 1944 Cup finalist 1943 Known as "the man with the white gloves", Willy Jürissen was an elegant goalkeeper known for a calm and sober way of going on about his job. Very good positional play meant that he rarely was in need of spectacular flying saves. Long precise punts were his specialty, not rarely aiming them straight to the other team's penalty box. During his peak years he found it hard to challenge the undisputed no. 1 in the German goal, Hans Jakob and thus the number of caps he earned was limited. Willy Jürissen was also a virtually unfallible penalty-taker. Senior clubs 1931-40 - - RW Oberhausen 1940-42 - - Braunschweig 1942-43 - - Hamburg 1942-45 - - Luftwaffe Hamburg 1945-47 - - RW Oberhausen (Div. 1 West) 1947-48 22 1 RW Oberhausen (Div. 1 West) 1948-49 21 2 RW Oberhausen (Div. 1 West) 1949-50 28 0 Erkenschwick (Div. 1 West) 1950-51 26 1 Erkenschwick (Div. 1 West) 1951-52 - - RW Oberhausen (Div. 2) #38 Frank ROST (b. 1973) 4 A, Germany, Goalkeeper League champion 1993, 1995 League runner-up 2005 Cup winner 1994, 1999 Cup finalist 2000, 2005 A very consistent goalkeeper, the East German Frank Rost was especially adept at thwarting clear goal chances with his quick reflexes on the goalline. A minor flaw was his lack of technique when using his feet. 1991-92 33 0 Markkleeberg (Div. 3) 1992-93 0 0 Bremen (BL) 1993-94 0 0 Bremen (BL) 1994-95 0 0 Bremen (BL) 1995-96 15 0 Bremen (BL) 1996-97 0 0 Bremen (BL) 1997-98 2 0 Bremen (BL) 1998-99 28 0 Bremen (BL) 1999-00 34 0 Bremen (BL) 2000-01 34 0 Bremen (BL) 2001-02 34 1 Bremen (BL) 2002-03 33 0 FC Schalke 04 (BL) 2003-04 27 0 FC Schalke 04 (BL) 2004-05 31 0 FC Schalke 04 (BL)
2005-06 32 0 FC Schalke 04 (BL) 2006-07 7 0 FC Schalke 04 (BL) 2006-07 17 0 Hamburg (BL) 2007-08 34 0 Hamburg (BL) 2008-09 34 0 Hamburg (BL) 2009-10 34 0 Hamburg (BL) 2010-11 30 0 Hamburg (BL) 2011-12 11 0 New York Red Bulls (United States) #37 Heinrich (Heinz) KWIATKOWSKI (1926-2008) 3 A, Germany, Goalkeeper League champion 1956, 1957, 1963 League runner-up 1961, 1966 Cup winner 1965 Cup finalist 1963 CWC winner 1966 World Cup winner 1954 A native of Gelsenkirchen, home of FC Schalke 04, Heinrich Kwiatkowski enjoyed his greatest successes with fierce rivals Borussia Dortmund when he won two back-to-back German championships in 1956 and 1957 and was their captain in the 1961 German championship final which they lost to Nürnberg. He was less lucky playing for Germany, in the four caps he collected he was beaten 14 times, among it the 3-8 vs. Hungary in 1954 and the 3-6 vs. France in 1958. As Fritz Walter stated later during the 1954 World Cup the only player I felt real pity for was Kwiatkowski. At the same time he considered himself lucky because he almost drowned while swimming in a lake in Thun. Upon his return to Dortmund the municipal public bath gave him a coupon for free swimming lessons. From a footballing point of view Kwiatkowski has to be counted among the very best German keepers of his generation and was considered an equal talent to the 1954 World Cup winning goalkeeper Toni Turek. A cool-headed personality, in more than 1,200 games he earned himself the nickname Heini fist it! as his specialty was forceful and firm fisting of the ball. Altogether his 409 games in the pre-bundesliga Oberliga are second only to Max Morlock. 1947-48 21 0 FC Schalke 04 (Div. 1 West) 1948-49 23 0 FC Schalke 04 (Div. 1 West) 1949-50 30 0 FC Schalke 04 (Div. 1 West) 1950-51 10 0 RW Essen (Div. 1 West) 1951-52 28 0 RW Essen (Div. 1 West) 1952-53 29 0 Dortmund (Div. 1 West) 1953-54 29 0 Dortmund (Div. 1 West) 1954-55 27 0 Dortmund (Div. 1 West) 1955-56 30 0 Dortmund (Div. 1 West) 1956-57 27 0 Dortmund (Div. 1 West) 1957-58 30 0 Dortmund (Div. 1 West) 1958-59 26 0 Dortmund (Div. 1 West) 1959-60 29 0 Dortmund (Div. 1 West) 1960-61 30 0 Dortmund (Div. 1 West) 1961-62 18 0 Dortmund (Div. 1 West) 1962-63 22 0 Dortmund (Div. 1 West) 1963-64 3 0 Dortmund (BL) 1964-65 0 0 Dortmund (BL) 1965-66 0 0 Dortmund (BL)
#36 Hansjörg BUTT (b. 1974) 4 A, Germany, Goalkeeper League champion 2010 League runner-up 2002, 2009, 2012 Cup winner 2010 Cup finalist 2002, 2012 Champions Cup finalist 2002, 2010, 2012 World Cup finalist 2002 His strength of nerves was remarkable, especially as a penalty-taker. No other German goalkeeper managed to score as many goals as Butt did. It was only at Bayern that he stopped being the designated penalty taker as the Bayern powers deemed it inappropriate for a big club to have the goalkeeper take the penalties. But Butt didn't define himself through his goalscoring record. He was noted for good positional play, his stoical calm, unagitated way and his overall consistency. 1994-95 33 0 Oldenburg (Div. 3) 1995-96 34 4 Oldenburg (Div. 3) 1996-97 20 1 Oldenburg (Div. 2) 1997-98 33 0 Hamburg (BL) 1998-99 34 7 Hamburg (BL) 1999-00 34 9 Hamburg (BL) 2000-01 32 3 Hamburg (BL) 2001-02 34 2 Leverkusen (BL) 2002-03 33 1 Leverkusen (BL) 2003-04 34 1 Leverkusen (BL) 2004-05 34 2 Leverkusen (BL) 2005-06 34 1 Leverkusen (BL) 2006-07 22 0 Leverkusen (BL) 2007-08 1 0 Benfica (Portugal) 2008-09 8 0 Bayern München (BL) 2009-10 31 0 Bayern München (BL) 2010-11 23 0 Bayern München (BL) 2011-12 1 0 Bayern München (BL) #35
Timo HILDEBRANDT (b. 1979) 7 A, Germany, Goalkeeper League champion 2007 Cup winner 2008 Cup finalist 2007 When Timo Hildebrand was fully concentrated he impressed with his quick reflexes on the goalline, but on the whole his consistency was not high enough to become a really great goalkeeper. Very strong on the ball, considerate and unhasty in one-on-one situations, Hildebrand played at a time when 1,85 metres were comparatively small for a goalkeeper. One of his main assets was his very strong positional sense, which helped him blighting many dangers, but a certain weakness at setpieces was regrettable. 1999-00 6 0 Stuttgart (BL) 2000-01 32 0 Stuttgart (BL) 2001-02 31 0 Stuttgart (BL) 2002-03 20 0 Stuttgart (BL) 2003-04 34 0 Stuttgart (BL) 2004-05 34 0 Stuttgart (BL) 2005-06 31 0 Stuttgart (BL) 2006-07 33 0 Stuttgart (BL) 2007-08 26 0 Valencia (Spain) 2008-09 0 0 Valencia (Spain) 2008-09 10 0 Hoffenheim (BL) 2009-10 28 0 Hoffenheim (BL) 2010-11 0 0 Sporting Lisboa (Portugal) 2011-12 6 0 FC Schalke 04 (BL) 2012-13 21 0 FC Schalke 04 (BL) 2013-14 12 0 FC Schalke 04 (BL) 2014-15 3 0 Frankfurt (BL) #34 Robert ENKE (1977-2009) 8 A, Germany, Goalkeeper League champion 2004 Euro finalist 2008 It didn't look like Enke had what it takes to become a great goalkeeper before he joined Hannover: he was rated as a great talent in Mönchengladbach, did not do too well playing for Benfica, was sitting in the stands during his stay in Barcelona and left Fenerbahce after one week. In Hannover he finally proved that he was one of the most complete goalkeepers of the 2000s, equally strong on the goalline and at leaving the goal, immensely assured in killing crosses and technically advanced so that he was able to use his feet sufficiently well. Enke shockingly committed suicide in 2009 as a consequence of his long-going depressions. 1995-96 3 0 Jena (Div. 2)
1996-97 0 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (BL) 1997-98 0 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (BL) 1998-99 32 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (BL) 1999-00 26 0 Benfica (Portugal) 2000-01 26 0 Benfica (Portugal) 2001-02 25 0 Benfica (Portugal) 2002-03 1 0 Barcelona (Spain) 2003-04 1 0 Fenerbahce (Turkey) 2004-05 34 0 Hannover (BL) 2005-06 32 0 Hannover (BL) 2006-07 34 0 Hannover (BL) 2007-08 34 0 Hannover (BL) 2008-09 24 0 Hannover (BL) 2009-10 6 0 Hannover (BL) #33 René ADLER (b. 1985) 12 A, Germany, Goalkeeper League runner-up 2011 Cup finalist 2009 Euro finalist 2008 At the end of the 2000s René Adler was on his way to becoming the no. 1 goalkeeper in German football, he was the designated goalkeeper of the national team at the 2010 World Cup but an injury prevented him to take part in this tournament. Adler is one of the most complete goalkeepers, but he needs to be at his best to really be outstanding. Almost perfect is his timing when leaving his goal and very good is his initiating of offensive actions and of course his ball control. At the start of his career, the charismatic Adler was considered the most reliable and consistent goalkeeper of the league and generally rated higher than Manuel Neuer. Not always assured in dealing with high crosses, Adler never played for a really great side with great defenders in front of him which is a disadvantage in the long run compared to his competitors Manuel Neuer and Roman Weidenfeller. Prone to injuries. 2003-04 0 0 Leverkusen (BL) 2004-05 0 0 Leverkusen (BL) 2005-06 0 0 Leverkusen (BL) 2006-07 11 0 Leverkusen (BL) 2007-08 33 0 Leverkusen (BL) 2008-09 31 0 Leverkusen (BL) 2009-10 31 0 Leverkusen (BL) 2010-11 32 0 Leverkusen (BL) 2011-12 0 0 Leverkusen (BL) 2012-13 32 0 Hamburg (BL) 2013-14 30 0 Hamburg (BL) 2014-15 12 0 Hamburg (BL) 2015-16 24 0 Hamburg (BL) 2016-17 19 0 Hamburg (BL)
#32 Wolfgang FAHRIAN (b. 1941) 10 A, Germany, Goalkeeper League runner-up 1967 He rose as fast as lightning from an unknown to first keeper of the national team within 18 months. Originally he was a defender in his youth and only became a goalkeeper at the age of 18. He embraced his new task with an almost fanatical study of that role. Fahrian debuted as a goalkeeper for TSG Ulm in September 1960 after one year of constant training. Incredibly, he did so well that Sepp Herberger decided in April 1962 to drop his standard goalkeeper Hans Tilkowski himself rated at that time as one of the very finest keepers Germany ever produced and to replace him with the untried and untested Fahrian five weeks before the 1962 World Cup would commence. Fahrian guarded Germany s goal in all four World Cup games and was counted among the few positive aspects for Germany after the Chile adventure. As a goalkeeper Fahrian impressed with quick reflexes which prompted Fritz Walter to state that he rarely saw a goalkeeper with such bold parades. His career suffered a blow in 1965 when he joined Hertha BSC only after cashing in 80,000 Marks which was a violation of the contract player s statute. The German FA suspended him for 12 months and he had to pay a hefty fine. Needless to say that his international career was finished by that point. 1960-61 24 0 Ulm (Div. 1 South) 1961-62 - - Ulm (Div. 2) 1962-63 30 0 Ulm (Div. 1 South) 1963-64 32 0 Ulm (Div. 2) 1964-65 25 0 Hertha BSC (BL) 1965-66 17 1 Hertha BSC (Div. 2) 1966-67 8 0 TSV 1860 München (BL) 1967-68 33 0 Düsseldorf (Div. 2) 1968-69 31 0 Düsseldorf (Div. 2) 1969-70 34 1 Fortuna Köln (Div. 2) 1970-71 34 0 Fortuna Köln (Div. 2) 1971-72 34 0 Fortuna Köln (Div. 2) 1972-73 30 0 Fortuna Köln (Div. 2) 1973-74 34 0 Fortuna Köln (BL) 1974-75 28 0 Fortuna Köln (Div. 2) 1975-76 22 0 Fortuna Köln (Div. 2)
#31 Adolf (Adsch) WERNER (1886-1975) 13 A, Germany, Goalkeeper League champion 1912 League runner-up 1910 Adsch Werner was the first idolized goalkeeper in German football and considered easily the best of his genre until the emergence of Heiner Stuhlfauth in the 1920s. A grumpy, unchatty character, his greatest strengths were his safe fisting of balls and complete calmness. Adsch Werner looked at the goalkeeper role as being the same as the role of the outfield players and preferred to parry low balls not by diving to the ground but by using his feet. Senior clubs 1902-11 Holstein Kiel 1911-12 Victoria Hamburg 1912-23 Holstein Kiel #30 Roman WEIDENFELLER (b. 1980) 5 A, Germany, Goalkeeper League champion 2011, 2012 League runner-up 2013, 2014, 2016 Cup winner 2012, 2017 Cup finalist 2008, 2014, 2015, 2016 Champions Cup finalist 2013 World Cup winner 2014 Great class in one-on-one situations, arguably the most crucial player in Dortmund's 2012-13 champions league campaign. Not as composed on the ball as most other modern goalkeepers, Weidenfeller embodies the classic goalkeeper type, very strong on the goalline but not as solid in contributing to the build up of his team like Neuer or Adler. He struggled very often in the 2000s but really set himself apart as a goalkeeper of world class level (when at his peak) under Jürgen Klopp's tutelage in Dortmund in the early 2010s.
2000-01 3 0 1. FC Kaiserslautern (BL) 2001-02 3 0 1. FC Kaiserslautern (BL) 2002-03 11 0 Dortmund (BL) 2003-04 17 0 Dortmund (BL) 2004-05 26 0 Dortmund (BL) 2005-06 24 0 Dortmund (BL) 2006-07 34 0 Dortmund (BL) 2007-08 14 0 Dortmund (BL) 2008-09 32 0 Dortmund (BL) 2009-10 30 0 Dortmund (BL) 2010-11 33 0 Dortmund (BL) 2011-12 32 0 Dortmund (BL) 2012-13 31 0 Dortmund (BL) 2013-14 30 0 Dortmund (BL) 2014-15 25 0 Dortmund (BL) 2015-16 1 0 Dortmund (BL) 2016-17 7 0 Dortmund (BL) #29 Volkmar GROSS (1948-2014) 1 A, Germany, Goalkeeper UEFA Cup finalist 1975 A very tall and present, quite charismatic goalkeeper who excelled at mastering high balls and during his time playing for Hertha BSC (1967-72) was rated as one of the very best keepers in the Bundesliga. Due to his involvement in the 1971 Bundesliga scandal, his international career was over after only one international game. During his suspension he played in South Africa, which was not part of FIFA, and then for Twente Enschede in the Eredivisie. Gross had a comeback in the Bundesliga in 1977 doing very well for lowly Tennis Borussia Berlin, then he joined Schalke 04 in 1977 where he was in constant rotation with Yugoslavian international keeper Enver Maric and then spent six years in the NASL before retiring in 1983. 1966-67 21 0 Zehlendorf (Div. 2) 1967-68 12 0 Hertha BSC (Div. 2) 1968-69 17 0 Hertha BSC (Div. 2) 1969-70 22 0 Hertha BSC (BL) 1970-71 34 0 Hertha BSC (BL) 1971-72 28 0 Hertha BSC (BL) 1972-73 - - Hellenic (South Africa) 1973-74 - - Hellenic (South Africa) 1974-75 20 0 Enschede (Netherlands) 1975-76 29 0 Enschede (Netherlands) 1976-77 16 0 Enschede (Netherlands) 1976-77 17 1 Tennis Borussia Berlin (BL) 1977-78 18 0 FC Schalke 04 (BL) 1978-79 17 0 FC Schalke 04 (BL) 1978-79 15 0 Minnesota Kicks (United States) 1978-79 9 0 San Diego Sockers (United States)
1979-80 31 0 San Diego Sockers (United States) 1980-81 32 0 San Diego Sockers (United States) 1981-82 29 0 San Diego Sockers (United States) 1982-83 24 0 San Diego Sockers (United States) #28 Johann (Hans) KLODT (1914-1996) 17 A, Germany, Goalkeeper League champion 1937, 1939, 1940, 1942 League runner-up 1938, 1941 Cup winner 1937 Cup finalist 1936, 1941, 1942 The older stepbrother of outside right Berni Klodt joined FC Schalke 04 in 1935 and quickly ousted their no. 1 goalkeeper Hermann Mellage. Klodt was described as the unmatched master of the penalty box who distinguished himself with exceptionally fast reflexes. His long, powerful punts were also famous and he proved to be an adept pupil of Heiner Stuhlfauth in that he often left the penalty box to act as "third back". In 1939 he became the successor of Hans Jakob in the national team. In spring 1942 he suffered a bullet wound in combat on the Eastern front and thus lost his starting place in the national team as a result, as he needed quite long to get fit again after that injury. Senior clubs 1931-35 BV Gelsenkirchen 1935-48 FC Schalke 04 1948-55 Beckum
#27 Friedrich (Fritz) HERKENRATH (1928-2016) 21 A, Germany, Goalkeeper League champion 1955 Cup winner 1953 World Cup winner 1954 A very likeable goalkeeper who stood out for his quick reflexes, his audacity inside the box and good catching. Herkenrath liked to parry the ball in a spectacular way but despite this love for showboating was a staunch and reliable keeper. 1947-48 18 0 Dellbrück (Div. 1 West) 1948-49 - - Dellbrück (Div. 2) 1949-50 29 0 Dellbrück (Div. 1 West) 1950-51 28 0 Dellbrück (Div. 1 West) 1951-52 13 0 Köln (Div. 1 West) 1952-53 30 0 RW Essen (Div. 1 West) 1953-54 30 0 RW Essen (Div. 1 West) 1954-55 24 0 RW Essen (Div. 1 West) 1955-56 30 0 RW Essen (Div. 1 West) 1956-57 29 0 RW Essen (Div. 1 West) 1957-58 30 0 RW Essen (Div. 1 West) 1958-59 30 0 RW Essen (Div. 1 West) 1959-60 19 0 RW Essen (Div. 1 West) 1960-61 26 0 RW Essen (Div. 1 West) 1961-62 - - RW Essen (Div. 2) 1962-63 - - RW Essen (Div. 2) 1963-64 - - RW Essen (Div. 2) 1964-65 - - RW Essen (Div. 2) #26 Horst (Luffe) WOLTER (b. 1942) 13 A, Germany, Goalkeeper
League champion 1967 League runner-up 1975 Cup finalist 1977 A goalkeeper of below average height, Horst Wolter was regarded as one of the best of his profession in the late-1960s and for a short time seriously rivalled Sepp Maier as Germany s no. 1 goalkeeper. Horst Wolter set the record for fewest goals conceded with 27 (four of them conceded by his reserve keeper) in Braunschweig s 1966-67 championship-winning season. A record which stood for 21 years until it was broken by Werder Bremen s Oliver Reck in 1987-88. In 1971 Wolter was ousted from the Braunschweig goal by young talent Bernd Franke. Wolter returned to his native Berlin joining Hertha BSC. 1960-61 0 0 Braunschweig (Div. 1 North) 1961-62 2 0 Braunschweig (Div. 1 North) 1962-63 3 0 Braunschweig (Div. 1 North) 1963-64 1 0 Braunschweig (BL) 1964-65 7 0 Braunschweig (BL) 1965-66 30 0 Braunschweig (BL) 1966-67 32 0 Braunschweig (BL) 1967-68 32 0 Braunschweig (BL) 1968-69 26 0 Braunschweig (BL) 1969-70 33 0 Braunschweig (BL) 1970-71 25 0 Braunschweig (BL) 1971-72 9 0 Braunschweig (BL) 1972-73 22 0 Hertha BSC (BL) 1973-74 3 0 Hertha BSC (BL) 1974-75 1 0 Hertha BSC (BL) 1975-76 21 0 Hertha BSC (BL) 1976-77 1 9 Hertha BSC (BL) #25 Eike IMMEL (b. 1960) 19 A, Germany, Goalkeeper League champion 1992 UEFA Cup finalist 1989 Euro winner 1980 World Cup finalist 1982, 1986 When he debuted in 1978 at the age of 17 Eike Immel became the youngest ever goalkeeper of the Bundesliga. He was Dortmund s number one goalkeeper from season 1979-80 on until he joined Stuttgart in 1986. During his time in Dortmund, he only missed a single game between 1979 and 1986. A very quick moving keeper, like many other goalkeepers of his era, he possessed excellent reflexes but was not as good when he had to leave his goal. He was the number three goalkeeper of the German national team with Harald Schumacher and Uli Stein ahead of him, but in 1986 luckily for him Harald Schumacher was suspended from international duties due to his scandalous book Anpfiff and Uli Stein had been sacked by Franz Beckenbauer during the 1986 World Cup due to defiant and insubordinate behaviour. Thus Immel was suddenly the no. 1 goalkeeper. He guarded Germany s goal during the 1988 European Championship but unexpectedly resigned shortly after the tournament because Bodo Illgner, the young Köln goalkeeper, was selected by Franz Beckenbauer to start in goal in the first
World Cup qualifier against Finland in September 1988. Immel later stated that this was the biggest mistake of his career. 1978-79 10 0 Dortmund (BL) 1979-80 34 0 Dortmund (BL) 1980-81 34 0 Dortmund (BL) 1981-82 34 0 Dortmund (BL) 1982-83 34 0 Dortmund (BL) 1983-84 33 0 Dortmund (BL) 1984-85 34 0 Dortmund (BL) 1985-86 34 0 Dortmund (BL) 1986-87 33 0 VfB Stuttgart (BL) 1987-88 29 0 VfB Stuttgart (BL) 1988-89 29 0 VfB Stuttgart (BL) 1989-90 27 0 VfB Stuttgart (BL) 1990-91 34 0 VfB Stuttgart (BL) 1991-92 38 0 VfB Stuttgart (BL) 1992-93 30 0 VfB Stuttgart (BL) 1993-94 34 0 VfB Stuttgart (BL) 1994-95 33 0 VfB Stuttgart (BL) 1995-96 38 0 Manchester City (England) 1996-97 4 0 Manchester City (England Div. 2) #24 Stefan KLOS (b. 1971) Germany, Goalkeeper League champion 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2005 League runner-up 1992, 2001, 2002, 2004 Cup winner 1999, 2002, 2003 Champions Cup 1997 UEFA Cup finalist 1993 Intercontinental Cup 1997 Not an overly tall but physically strong and reliable no-nonsense goalkeeper. Despite a very good performance level in the 1990s he was continuously ignored by Berti Vogts and never collected a cap. Klos was intended to be part of the 1996 Euro squad but an injury meant that he had to stay at home. Arguably the best German goalkeeper never to be capped by the national team. 1990-91 2 0 Dortmund (BL) 1991-92 31 0 Dortmund (BL) 1992-93 34 0 Dortmund (BL) 1993-94 34 0 Dortmund (BL) 1994-95 34 0 Dortmund (BL) 1995-96 33 0 Dortmund (BL) 1996-97 34 0 Dortmund (BL) 1997-98 34 0 Dortmund (BL) 1998-99 18 0 Dortmund (BL) 1998-99 18 0 Rangers (Scotland)
1999-00 24 0 Rangers (Scotland) 2000-01 32 0 Rangers (Scotland) 2001-02 36 0 Rangers (Scotland) 2002-03 38 0 Rangers (Scotland) 2003-04 34 0 Rangers (Scotland) 2004-05 23 0 Rangers (Scotland) 2005-06 2 0 Rangers (Scotland) 2006-07 0 0 Rangers (Scotland) #23 Manfred MANGLITZ (b. 1940) 4 A, Germany, Goalkeeper League runner-up 1964 Cup finalist 1966, 1970, 1971 A very consistent goalkeeper, calm on the pitch but known as a bigmouth off the pitch, hence his nickname Cassius. A very tall goalkeeper, Manglitz was a tower in goal for MSV Duisburg and later Köln and was always among Germany s best keepers of the 1960s. His career ended abruptly in 1971 since he was a main culprit in the Bundesliga scandal. 1961-62 - - Leverkusen (Div. 2) 1962-63 26 0 Leverkusen (Div. 1 West) 1963-64 30 0 Duisburg (BL) 1964-65 28 0 Duisburg (BL) 1965-66 34 0 Duisburg (BL) 1966-67 34 1 Duisburg (BL) 1967-68 33 0 Duisburg (BL) 1968-69 33 0 Duisburg (BL) 1969-70 34 0 Köln (BL) 1970-71 31 0 Köln (BL) 1971-75 - - suspended 1975-76 5 0 Mülheim (Div. 2) #22 Wolfgang KLEFF (b. 1946) 6 A, Germany, Goalkeeper
League champion 1970, 1971, 1975, 1976, 1977 League runner-up 1974, 1978 Cup winner 1973 UEFA Cup 1975, 1979 World Cup winner 1974 Euro winner 1972 In his time he was one of the smallest goalkeepers but also one of the best. Wolfgang Kleff impressed with his lightning fast reflexes, outstanding on the goalline and also pretty good in controlling the box. A true personality with charisma he was known for a high consistency in his performance level. His best remembered game was the second leg of the 1970-71 European Cup tie against English champions Everton FC. After a blunder in the very first minute which allowed Everton the first goal, he then showed a series of spectacular saves and Mönchengladbach only lost in the penalty shoot-out. Kleff s peak year was 1973 when he was hailed as Germany s best goalkeeper and for a short time managed to make Sepp Maier the no. 2 keeper of the national team. In 1976, a long-term injury made him lose his starting spot in the Mönchengladbach goal, but Kleff recovered from this blow in the following years and continued to be a Bundesliga keeper for various clubs until he finally retired at the age of 40 in 1987. 1968-69 9 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (BL) 1969-70 34 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (BL) 1970-71 34 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (BL) 1971-72 34 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (BL) 1972-73 34 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (BL) 1973-74 34 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (BL) 1974-75 34 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (BL) 1975-76 34 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (BL) 1976-77 0 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (BL) 1977-78 24 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (BL) 1978-79 1 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (BL) 1979-80 33 0 Hertha BSC (BL) 1980-81 15 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (BL) 1981-82 34 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (BL) 1982-83 31 0 Düsseldorf (BL) 1983-84 28 0 Düsseldorf (BL) 1984-85 31 0 RW Oberhausen (2. Div.) 1985-86 20 0 Bochum (BL) 1986-87 25 0 Salmrohr (Div. 2) #21 Rudolf (Rudi) KARGUS (b. 1952) 3 A, Germany, Goalkeeper League champion 1979 League runner-up 1976 Cup winner 1976 Cup finalist 1974 CWC winner 1977 Euro finalist 1976
An agile goalkeeper with fast reflexes who was considered the second best goalkeeper in the Bundesliga in the mid-1970s when he played for Hamburg. Unlike other goalkeepers of the time, Kargus did not only excel on the line but was also a dominant force when he had to leave his goal. Today Kargus is mostly remembered for being the greatest saver of penalties in the history of the league. Altogether he saved 24 penalties in 408 Bundesliga games. In a 1973 Cup game he saved three penalties in a single game. In 1979-80 Kargus experienced a loss of form for a longer period which prompted Hamburg managing director Günter Netzer to hire seasoned veteran Jupp Koitka as well as the outstanding talent Uli Stein. Kargus didn t want to risk being benched so he sought a transfer to another club and finally ended up at lowly Nürnberg. During his five years at Nürnberg he regained his form and was the undisputed no. 1 at that club. After his retirement in 1987 aged 35 Kargus became an acclaimed expressionist painter. In his paintings he sometimes processed experiences of his professional football career. 1970-71 9 0 Worms (Div. 2) 1971-72 14 0 Hamburg (BL) 1972-73 10 0 Hamburg (BL) 1973-74 33 0 Hamburg (BL) 1974-75 33 0 Hamburg (BL) 1975-76 34 0 Hamburg (BL) 1976-77 29 0 Hamburg (BL) 1977-78 34 0 Hamburg (BL) 1978-79 34 0 Hamburg (BL) 1979-80 33 0 Hamburg (BL) 1980-81 22 0 Nürnberg (BL) 1981-82 30 0 Nürnberg (BL) 1982-83 34 0 Nürnberg (BL) 1983-84 33 0 Nürnberg (BL) 1984-85 12 0 Nürnberg (Div. 2) 1984-85 15 0 Karlsruhe (BL) 1985-86 7 0 Karlsruhe (Div. 2) 1986-87 20 0 Düsseldorf (BL) #20 Günter SAWITZKI (b. 1932) 10 A, Germany, Goalkeeper Cup winner 1954, 1958 Before he became a goalkeeper, Günter Sawitzki tried his luck as a half back. But by 1955 he had become one of the Oberliga s most well-known keepers who tried to avoid stunts, preferring to go on about his job in a calm and sober fashion. For many years Sawitzki was among Germany s best goalkeepers but he never managed the breakthrough to become Germany s no. 1 keeper, as Fritz Herkenrath and later Hans Tilkowski and Wolfgang Fahrian were rated higher than him by Sepp Herberger. Sawitzki didn t take his fate too hard, jokingly calling himself the international record holder for bench time. He didn t know how the bench felt on club level though, as he was Stuttgart s undisputed no. 1 goalkeeper for 13 seasons until his retirement in 1968. In 1970 he was reactivated because of an injury crisis among Stuttgart s goalkeepers. 1953-54 6 0 VfB Stuttgart (Div. 1 South) 1954-55 30 0 VfB Stuttgart (Div. 1 South)
1955-56 28 0 VfB Stuttgart (Div. 1 South) 1956-57 8 0 VfB Stuttgart (Div. 1 South) 1957-58 30 0 VfB Stuttgart (Div. 1 South) 1958-59 30 0 VfB Stuttgart (Div. 1 South) 1959-60 30 0 VfB Stuttgart (Div. 1 South) 1960-61 27 0 VfB Stuttgart (Div. 1 South) 1961-62 30 0 VfB Stuttgart (Div. 1 South) 1962-63 29 0 VfB Stuttgart (Div. 1 South) 1963-64 29 0 VfB Stuttgart (BL) 1964-65 30 0 VfB Stuttgart (BL) 1965-66 33 0 VfB Stuttgart (BL) 1966-67 31 0 VfB Stuttgart (BL) 1967-68 21 0 VfB Stuttgart (BL) 1968-69 - - retired 1969-70 - - retired 1970-71 2 0 VfB Stuttgart (BL) #19 Dieter BURDENSKI (b. 1950) 12 A, Germany, Goalkeeper League champion 1988 League runner-up 1983, 1985, 1986 For roughly fifteen years, Dieter Burdenski s reputation was almost always that of one of Germany's absolute top goalkeepers. Similar to several other fine goalkeepers he was unlucky that at the same time two outstanding goalkeepers in Sepp Maier and Harald Schumacher stood in the way to the German national team. When Sepp Maier had to retire due to a severe car crash in 1979, Burdenski looked set to become Maier s successor, yet after a strong first half of the 1979-80 season, he began to struggle when his club Werder Bremen was in terrible shape and relegated at the end of that season. For Burdenski, this came at the most unsuitable time, in his place Harald Schumacher seized the opportunity. 1969-70 0 0 FC Schalke 04 (BL) 1970-71 3 0 FC Schalke 04 (BL) 1971-72 31 9 Bielefeld (BL) 1972-73 4 0 Bremen (BL) 1973-74 34 0 Bremen (BL) 1974-75 34 0 Bremen (BL) 1975-76 34 0 Bremen (BL) 1976-77 34 0 Bremen (BL) 1977-78 33 0 Bremen (BL) 1978-79 34 0 Bremen (BL) 1979-80 34 1 Bremen (BL) 1980-81 35 0 Bremen (Div. 2) 1981-82 33 0 Bremen (BL) 1982-83 34 0 Bremen (BL) 1983-84 34 0 Bremen (BL) 1984-85 34 0 Bremen (BL) 1985-86 31 0 Bremen (BL)
1986-87 34 0 Bremen (BL) 1987-88 3 0 Bremen (BL) 1988-89 1 0 Solna (Sweden) 1989-90 - - retired 1990-91 3 0 Arnhem (Netherlands) #18 Willibald KRESS (1906-1989) 16 A, Germany, Goalkeeper League champion 1943, 1944 League runner-up 1940 Cup winner 1940, 1941 The most popular German goalkeeper of the 1930s, Willibald Kress started out as a centre forward in youth but soon established himself as a goalkeeper for his youth club Bockenheim. The tall and lean Kress impressed as a phenomenal ball catcher, was known for his brilliant positional play and looked distinctly elegant in doing so. "Fussball" wrote about Kress: "A player with all the virtues of a goalkeeper. He knows how to captivate the crowds. There is no other goalkeeper that is so save with his hands." Despite his great ability it took a while before he debuted in the national team as Heiner Stuhlfauth reigned supreme. After Stuhlfauth resigned from international duty in 1930, the time of Kress had come. A career setback came in 1932: his club had signed a contract with various clubs for six friendlies amid the week and it was agreed that Kress had to be playing in goal in each game otherwise the sum would not have to be paid in full. But soon after the contract was agreed, Kress caught diphtheria and was missing those games. RW Frankfurt wanted to gain the missing amount of money by reducing the allowances paid to the players and these as a consequence began to strike. The German FA would have none of that and suspended the players for one year. But Kress wanted to keep on playing and thus joined French side Mulhouse in 1932-33. A year later the ban was lifted and he joined SC Dresden. With his easy-going character and unexcited ways, Kress soon became a fan favorite in Dresden. Nicknamed "Gentleman of football", Kress remained one of the most impressive keepers for the next ten years. He did well playing for Germany, too, but only until the 1934 World Cup semi final against Czechoslovakia. That game proved to be raven-black for Kress as he was at fault for one crucial goal that Germany conceded that day, a real blunder. The unforgiving Reichstrainer Otto Nerz dropped Kress completely after that fateful day and his international career was over on the spot. His club career however did not suffer from this at all. With Dresden he was a crucial part in their rise to the top of German football, winning the German championship and the Cup twice in the early 1940s. Helmut Schön once touted Kress as "the best German goalkeeper of all-times". Senior clubs 1926-32 RW Frankfurt 1932-33 Mulhouse (France) 1933-44 SC Dresden
#17 Hans (Jakl) JAKOB (1908-1994) 38 A, Germany, Goalkeeper Jakl Jakob was an all-round athlete who managed considerable results in track-and-field, winning the Bavarian hurdles race championships repeatedly and a decathlon promoter almost persuaded him to pursue a decathlon career. Jakob became Germany s number goal keeper after the 1934 World Cup, replacing Willibald Kress who had fallen out of favour with Reichstrainer Otto Nerz after a momentuous blunder in the semi final had arguably cost Germany the final. In his 38 international games, Jakob collected eleven clean-sheets and while he was guarding the goal, Germany only was defeated eight times. Today Jakob is still associated with Jahn Regensburg and is considered one of the absolute legends of the game in Germany. A tall goalkeeper, Jakob was especially revered for his assuredness in dealing with high-flying balls. He was deemed invincible in that aspect of goalkeeping. While he debuted in the national team already in 1930, it took him four years to replace the seemingly irreplaceable Willibald Kress in the German goal. After Kress was accused of an epic blunder in the World Cup semi final, Jakob was replacing him in the third place game and immediately impressed all observers. From that moment on the goalkeeper's shirt was his. He had the reputation as one of the continent's best goalkeepers in the late-1930s and it was no surprise that he was chosen to represent a western Europe "best XI" in Amsterdam in a game against the best central Europe had to offer. After the "Anschluss" of Austria in spring 1938, the German FA ordered that the best Austrian players had to play in the German national team for the 1938 World Cup. This was a disastrous decision as the two contrasting football philosophies (among other things, the Austrians had still sticked to the pyramid system while Germany was an exponent of the WM) did not blend together at all. It meant that several German players lost their regular place in the national team to make way for the Austrians, among them Hans Jakob who now had to warm the bench because the Austrian Rudolf Raftl was now set in goal. In the late 1930s he suffered a skull fracture by hitting the ice-covered ground in an unfortunate way. He finally retired from international duties in 1939, making way for Hans Klodt. He remained the record German goalkeeper for almost 30 years with 38 caps until Hans Tilkowski managed his 39 th cap in 1967. Senior clubs 1926-42 Jahn Regensburg (Div. 1) 1942-46 Bayern München (Div. 1) 1946-47 Lichtenfels (Div. 2) #16
Bodo ILLGNER (b. 1967) 54 A, Germany, Goalkeeper League champion 1997, 2001 League runner-up 1989, 1990, 1999 Cup finalist 1991 Champions Cup 1998, 2000 Intercontinental Cup 1998 World Cup winner 1990 Euro finalist 1992 Bodo Illgner was considered a promising goalkeeping talent at young age when he was quite unexpectedly given the chance to become Köln s no. 1 goalkeeper at age 19 after Harald Schumacher was sacked due to his controversial book 'Anpfiff' in 1986. Illgner immediately seized the opportunity and remained Köln s undisputed goalkeeper for the next ten years. A sober, unspectacular keeper but quite charismatic, he was voted 'goalkeeper of the year' four times in Germany (1989 to 1992), but did not win any trophies while being with Köln. That changed when he joined Real Madrid in 1996 where he managed the win the Champions League in 1998, as well as the Spanish championship in 1997 and 2001. Had to retire due to a severe shoulder injury in 2001 after having lost his starting place at Real to Iker Casillas. When playing for Germany, Illgner was never entirely undisputed, as many pundits claimed that Uli Stein and Andreas Köpke were better goalkeepers. Leauge record 1985-86 2 0 Köln (BL) 1986-87 16 0 Köln (BL) 1987-88 34 0 Köln (BL) 1988-89 33 0 Köln (BL) 1989-90 34 0 Köln (BL) 1990-91 34 0 Köln (BL) 1991-92 37 0 Köln (BL) 1992-93 31 0 Köln (BL) 1993-94 33 0 Köln (BL) 1994-95 34 0 Köln (BL) 1995-96 34 0 Köln (BL) 1996-97 4 0 Köln (BL) 1996-97 40 0 Real Madrid (Spain) 1997-98 12 0 Real Madrid (Spain) 1998-99 34 0 Real Madrid (Spain) 1999-00 5 0 Real Madrid (Spain) 2000-01 0 0 Real Madrid (Spain) #15 Bernd FRANKE (b. 1948) 7 A, Germany, Goalkeeper World Cup finalist 1982 A very fine goalkeeper, arguably the best in Germany during the 1970s until the early-1980s right after Sepp Maier and then Harald Schumacher. Franke was a loyal reserve keeper who had no problems accepting his role as a second or third keeper of the national team. A very reliable player who radiated a sense of calmness, very strong on the goalline and also despite only being of average height very firm and composed when leaving his goal.
1967-68 5 0 Saar 05 (Div. 2) 1968-69 30 0 Saar 05 (Div. 2) 1969-70 12 0 Düsseldorf (Div. 2) 1970-71 17 0 Düsseldorf (Div. 2) 1971-72 26 0 Braunschweig (BL) 1972-73 34 0 Braunschweig (BL) 1973-74 36 0 Braunschweig (Div. 2) 1974-75 34 0 Braunschweig (BL) 1975-76 30 0 Braunschweig (BL) 1976-77 34 0 Braunschweig (BL) 1977-78 32 0 Braunschweig (BL) 1978-79 19 0 Braunschweig (BL) 1979-80 21 0 Braunschweig (BL) 1980-81 42 0 Braunschweig (Div. 2) 1981-82 33 0 Braunschweig (BL) 1982-83 31 0 Braunschweig (BL) 1983-84 31 0 Braunschweig (BL) 1984-85 20 0 Braunschweig (BL) #14 Jens LEHMANN (b. 1969) 61 A, Germany, Goalkeeper League Champion 1999, 2002, 2004 League runner-up 2005 Cup winner 2005 Champions Cup finalist 2006 UEFA Cup 1997 World Cup finalist 2002 Euro finalist 2008 The 'eternal' goalkeeper was a professional for 23 years, a representative of the calm, solid kind of goalkeeping. Lehmann had a great reach, a good control of the penalty box and a pretty good touch. An intelligent player with a distinct and sometimes difficult character, often outspoken about his opinions. He was the first Bundesliga goalkeeper to score a goal from open play when he scored the equalizer for FC Schalke 04 in a 2-2 derby vs. Borussia Dortmund in 1997. His biggest season was 2005-06 when he established a Champions playing for Arsenal FC of not conceding for 852 minutes (marred by a red card in the final) and ousting Oliver Kahn from the German goal for the 2006 World Cup. Germany manager Jürgen Klinsmann considered Lehmann the more communicative and adaptable keeper. Lehmann certainly was a better footballer than Kahn but Kahn was definitely the better goalkeeper. 1988-89 13 0 FC Schalke 04 (Div. 2) 1989-90 27 0 FC Schalke 04 (Div. 2) 1990-91 34 0 FC Schalke 04 (Div. 2) 1991-92 37 0 FC Schalke 04 (BL) 1992-93 8 0 FC Schalke 04 (BL) 1993-94 21 0 FC Schalke 04 (BL) 1994-95 34 1 FC Schalke 04 (BL) 1995-96 32 0 FC Schalke 04 (BL) 1996-97 34 0 FC Schalke 04 (BL)
1997-98 34 1 FC Schalke 04 (BL) 1998-99 5 0 AC Milan (Italy) 1998-99 13 0 Dortmund (BL) 1999-00 31 0 Dortmund (BL) 2000-01 31 0 Dortmund (BL) 2001-02 30 0 Dortmund (BL) 2002-03 24 0 Dortmund (BL) 2003-04 38 0 Arsenal (England) 2004-05 28 0 Arsenal (England) 2005-06 38 0 Arsenal (England) 2006-07 36 0 Arsenal (England) 2007-08 7 0 Arsenal (England) 2008-09 34 0 VfB Stuttgart (BL) 2009-10 31 0 VfB Stuttgart (BL) 2010-11 1 0 Arsenal (England) #13 Jean-Marie PFAFF (b. 1953) 64 A, Belgium, Goalkeeper League champion 1979, 1985, 1986, 1987 League runner-up 1988 Cup winner 1978, 1984, 1986 Cup finalist 1980, 1985, 1990 Euro finalist 1980 Belgian Footballer 1978 The legendary Belgian goalkeeper was a charismatic, ambitious and slightly wacky goalkeeper without specific weaknesses. Despite his extrovert nature he was not a goalkeeper that tried to impress with spectacular saves, instead he tried to solve situations with his good positioning. Pfaff was rated as one of the best goalkeepers of the 1980s in European football. 1971-72 4 0 Beveren (Belgium) 1972-73 25 0 Beveren (Div. 2) 1973-74 27 0 Beveren (Belgium) 1974-75 32 0 Beveren (Belgium) 1975-76 36 0 Beveren (Belgium) 1976-77 33 0 Beveren (Belgium) 1977-78 34 0 Beveren (Belgium) 1978-79 34 0 Beveren (Belgium) 1979-80 33 0 Beveren (Belgium) 1980-81 22 0 Beveren (Belgium) 1981-82 25 0 Beveren (Belgium) 1982-83 27 0 Bayern München (BL) 1983-84 32 0 Bayern München (BL) 1984-85 14 0 Bayern München (BL) 1985-86 24 0 Bayern München (BL) 1986-87 34 0 Bayern München (BL) 1987-88 25 0 Bayern München (BL) 1988-89 23 0 Lierse SK (Belgium) 1989-90 22 0 Trabzonspor (Turkey)
#12 Hans TILKOWSKI (b. 1935) 39 A, Germany, Goalkeeper League runner-up 1966 Cup winner 1965 Cup finalist 1963 CWC winner 1966 World Cup finalist 1966 German Footballer 1965 Hans Tilkowski is regarded by many to be the greatest German goalkeeper in the years between Heiner Stuhlfauth (around 1930) and Sepp Maier (around 1970). Nicknamed 'black Hans' because of his black outfit, he was renowned for his excellent positioning, lightning fast reflexes and good technical skills with his feet as well as his calming presence. He joined Westfalia Herne in 1955 aged 20 and immediately became their standard goalkeeper. 18 months later he played his first international game for Germany and after the 1958 World Cup, Tilkowski became the number one goalkeeper under Sepp Herberger. His international breakthrough season was 1958-59 due to his impressive record keeping the goal of Herne, when he only conceded 23 goals in 30 games, which was unheard of in those days. It came as a total shock to Tilkowski and anybody else when Sepp Herberger decided to make the young, unproven Wolfgang Fahrian the no. 1 goalkeeper of Germany for the 1962 W0rld Cup in Chile. According to legend, the otherwise so prudent Tilkowski smashed the interior of his hotel chamber in a rage of anger. Apparently Sepp Herberger did not approve of that and for the next two years, Tilkowski and the German national team were strangers. In 1964, shortly before Herberger retired, the two made up again and Tilkowski returned to play in the German goal. During these years, Tilkowski was considered to be a goalkeeper sans-pareil in Germany. He was duly voted 'German Footballer of the Year' in 1965, the first time this honour was bestowed upon a goalkeeper. 1955-56 26 0 Herne (Div. 1 West) 1956-57 30 0 Herne (Div. 1 West) 1957-58 29 0 Herne (Div. 1 West) 1958-59 30 0 Herne (Div. 1 West) 1959-60 23 0 Herne (Div. 1 West) 1960-61 29 0 Herne (Div. 1 West) 1961-62 27 0 Herne (Div. 1 West) 1962-63 25 1 Herne (Div. 1 West) 1963-64 21 0 Dortmund (BL) 1964-65 17 0 Dortmund (BL) 1965-66 34 0 Dortmund (BL) 1966-67 9 0 Dortmund (BL) 1967-68 26 0 Dortmund (BL) 1968-69 14 0 Dortmund (BL) 1969-70 0 0 Dortmund (BL)
#11 Petar RADENKOVIĆ (b. 1934) 3 A, Yugoslavia, Goalkeeper League champion 1966 League runner-up 1955, 1967 Cup winner 1955, 1963, 1964 CWC finalist 1965 Petar 'Radi' Radenkovic is still one of the biggest legends in German football, especially in the lore of TSV 1860 München. 40 years after Heiner Stuhlfauth, Radenkovic again popularized the goalkeeper as the 11 th outfield player, as he often left his goal in spectacular fashion, advancing not only close to the halfway line but also raiding into the opposition half of the pitch. Loved by the crowds, he had a love-hate relationship with Austrian manager Max Merkel because of this. Despite his adventurous ways, Radenkovic was a truly exceptional goalkeeper mostly because of his extraordinary reflexes on the goalline. The combination of these two outstanding traits made the joker Radi Radenkovic an immortal player in German football history. 1951-52 1 0 Crvena Zvezda (Yugoslavia) 1952-53 2 0 OFK Beograd (Yugoslavia) 1953-54 22 0 OFK Beograd (Yugoslavia) 1954-55 15 0 OFK Beograd (Yugoslavia) 1955-56 15 0 OFK Beograd (Yugoslavia) 1956-57 26 0 OFK Beograd (Yugoslavia) 1957-58 13 0 OFK Beograd (Yugoslavia) 1958-59 0 0 OFK Beograd (Yugoslavia) 1959-60 3 0 OFK Beograd (Yugoslavia) 1960-61 - - supended 1961-62 13 1 Worms (Div. 1 Southwest) 1962-63 30 0 TSV 1860 München (Div. 1 -South) 1963-64 30 0 TSV 1860 München (BL) 1964-65 29 0 TSV 1860 München (BL) 1965-66 34 0 TSV 1860 München (BL) 1966-67 26 0 TSV 1860 München (BL) 1967-68 34 0 TSV 1860 München (BL) 1968-69 30 0 TSV 1860 München (BL) 1969-70 32 0 TSV 1860 München (BL) #10
Norbert NIGBUR (b. 1948) 6 A, Germany, Goalkeeper League runner-up 1972 Cup winner 1972 Cup finalist 1969, 1977, 1979 World Cup winner 1974 A charismatic goalkeeper with outstandingly fast reflexes on the goalline and a knack for spectacular saves who was also an accomplished controller of his penalty box. Nigbur s greatest drawback was his impatience, something Helmut Schön manager of Germany didn t prize highly as Sepp Maier was his clear no.1 goalkeeper and he looked for a back-up that would quietly accept his role, something Nigbur just couldn t do as he was far too competitive for that. Nigbur was the first player that had played on all international levels of the German national team: senior team, b-team, amateur team, junior team, youth team and students team. Nigbur had a hot temper and in 1970 he gave a newspaper interview in an angry mood after Helmut Schön had not invited him to the senior squad but only to the junior squad. At least since then the relationship between Schön and Nigbur was soured. Despite Nigbur being rated as one of the finest goalkeepers of the early-1970s, when he arguably was at his career-peak, he had to wait until 1974 to gain his first senior cap. 1966-67 28 0 FC Schalke 04 (BL) 1967-68 18 0 FC Schalke 04 (BL) 1968-69 31 0 FC Schalke 04 (BL) 1969-70 23 0 FC Schalke 04 (BL) 1970-71 31 0 FC Schalke 04 (BL) 1971-72 34 0 FC Schalke 04 (BL) 1972-73 34 0 FC Schalke 04 (BL) 1973-74 24 0 FC Schalke 04 (BL) 1974-75 33 0 FC Schalke 04 (BL) 1975-76 33 0 FC Schalke 04 (BL) 1976-77 33 0 Hertha BSC (BL) 1977-78 34 0 Hertha BSC (BL) 1978-79 34 0 Hertha BSC (BL) 1979-80 28 0 Hertha BSC (BL) 1980-81 27 0 Hertha BSC (BL) 1981-82 38 0 FC Schalke 04 (Div. 2) 1982-83 11 0 FC Schalke 04 (BL) #9 Anton (Toni) TUREK (1919-1984) 20 A, Germany, Goalkeeper World Cup winner 1954 Toni Turek is, together with Sepp Maier, Heiner Stuhlfauth and Radi Radenkovic, one of the most legendary and revered goalkeepers in German football history. His reflexes were outstanding and he was a supreme catcher of the ball in all possible situations. This was coupled with a steadfast calmness and made him the outstanding goalkeeper in Germany around 1950. Turek was already part of the national team roster in 1942.
During World War 2 he was exceptionally lucky when a shell splinter crashed his helmet in combat but the resulting injury to his head proved far less severe than what would usually be expected in such an incident. While he was Germany's clear no. 1 goalkeeper in the first half of the 1950s, he was never fully undisputed because Sepp Herberger sometimes mistrusted his cheerful nature (typical for people from the Rhineland) which was sometimes interpreted by Herberger as a lack of seriousness. Also, Turek was no stranger to showboating for the gallery which resulted in a number of unnecessary goals against his team over the course of his career. Still, Herberger knew he could rely on Turek when the going got tough and thus there never really was much doubt who the no. 1 goalkeeper for Germany was. Turek started not very well during the 1954 World Cup and midway through the tournament Herberger intimated to Turek that his place was not as safe as he might have thought. This had the right effect on Turek and consequently Turek became one of the crucial factors in Germany winning the 1954 World Cup against all odds. Legendary is his save against Nandor Hidegkuti in the Berne final when he parried a shot from close range with an incredible reflex for the ages (which led radio reporter Herbert Zimmermann to the famous remark "Toni, you are a football god"). 1954 proved to be a pivotal year for Turek and from then on he was on the way down. By 1955, the 36 year old Turek had lost his place in the national team and his club career was also quickly approaching an end. He lost his starting place in Düsseldorf due to a severe injury in 1955 and he finally retired in 1957 after one unfulfilling year spent in Mönchengladbach. 1936-41 - - Duisburg 48/99 1941-43 - - Ulm 1846 1943-46 - - Duisburg 48/99 1946-47 22 0 Eintracht Frankfurt (Div. 1 South) 1947-48 37 0 Eintracht Frankfurt (Div. 1 South) 1948-49 28 0 Ulm 1846 (Div. 1 South) 1949-50 - - Ulm 1846 (Div. 2) 1950-51 28 0 Düsseldorf (Div. 1 West) 1951-52 30 0 Düsseldorf (Div. 1 West) 1952-53 30 0 Düsseldorf (Div. 1 West) 1953-54 30 0 Düsseldorf (Div. 1 West) 1954-55 15 0 Düsseldorf (Div. 1 West) 1955-56 0 0 Düsseldorf (Div. 1 West) 1956-57 4 0 Bor. Mönchengladbach (Div. 1 West) #8 Ronnie HELLSTRÖM (b. 1949) 77 A, Sweden, Goalkeeper Cup finalist 1976, 1981 Swedish Footballer 1971, 1978 A legendary goalkeeper who played ten seasons for Kaiserslautern and is rated among the all-time greatest Swedish players. Excellent on the goalline but like many keepers of the 1970s not faultless when he had to leave his goal. A very tall player, Hellström privately enjoyed listening to the music of Tchaikovsky. 1966-67 22 0 Hammarby (Sweden) 1967-68 - - Hammarby (Div. 2 Sweden)
1968-69 - - Hammarby (Div. 2 Sweden) 1969-70 22 0 Hammarby (Sweden) 1970-71 22 0 Hammarby (Sweden) 1971-72 22 0 Hammarby (Sweden) 1972-73 26 0 Hammarby (Sweden) 1973-74 10 0 Hammarby (Sweden) 1974-75 34 0 1. FC Kaiserslautern (BL) 1975-76 34 0 1. FC Kaiserslautern (BL) 1976-77 32 0 1. FC Kaiserslautern (BL) 1977-78 34 0 1. FC Kaiserslautern (BL) 1978-79 33 0 1. FC Kaiserslautern (BL) 1979-80 30 0 1. FC Kaiserslautern (BL) 1980-81 34 0 1. FC Kaiserslautern (BL) 1981-82 9 0 1. FC Kaiserslautern (BL) 1982-83 3 0 1. FC Kaiserslautern (BL) 1983-84 23 0 1. FC Kaiserslautern (BL) 1984-87 - - retired 1987-88 1 0 Sundsvall (Sweden) #7 Ulrich (Uli) STEIN (b. 1954) 6 A, Germany, Goalkeeper League champion 1982, 1983 League runner-up 1981, 1984, 1987 Cup winner 1987, 1988 Champions Cup 1983 UEFA Cup finalist 1982 World Cup finalist 1986 One of Germany s all-time greatest goalkeepers who enjoyed an outstanding career in the Bundesliga despite inciting several scandals. Uli Stein must be rated as a truly complete goalkeeper, very strong in all aspects of goalkeeping, terrific on the line and at leaving his goal, in one-on-one situations, a very charismatic figure, a dominant person with an aggressive mentality. As a goalkeeper Stein was highly respected because he sustained a very high level over the course of two decades. An important personality in the teams he played for (Bielefeld, Hamburg, Eintracht Frankfurt) but unfortunately also a loose cannon. Stein was extremely ambitious and without any humour, could not stand to lose and often had meltdowns on the pitch (knocking out players with a punch of his fist and even knocking down ball-boys as the most notable episodes; he also once refused to get back between the goalposts after conceding a controversial goal, the referee sent Stein off as he continued to refuse moving back to his goal despite the referee summoning him to do so). His international career ended in 1986 when he was kicked out of the national team during the 1986 World Cup for disrespectful behaviour towards Franz Beckenbauer. For Stein this probably was some sort of salvation as it must have been unbearable for him being only second keeper behind the equally ambitious and headstrong Harald Schumacher. Despite these scandals, Stein was still playing topflight football at the age of 42 when he finally retired in 1997. 1976-77 37 0 Bielefeld (Div. 2) 1977-78 38 0 Bielefeld (Div. 2) 1978-79 33 0 Bielefeld (BL)
1979-80 26 0 Bielefeld (Div. 2) 1980-81 12 0 Hamburg (BL) 1981-82 34 0 Hamburg (BL) 1982-83 34 0 Hamburg (BL) 1983-84 34 0 Hamburg (BL) 1984-85 33 0 Hamburg (BL) 1985-86 34 0 Hamburg (BL) 1986-87 28 0 Hamburg (BL) 1987-88 0 0 Hamburg (BL) 1987-88 28 0 Eintracht Frankfurt (BL) 1988-89 34 0 Eintracht Frankfurt (BL) 1989-90 34 0 Eintracht Frankfurt (BL) 1990-91 34 0 Eintracht Frankfurt (BL) 1991-92 38 0 Eintracht Frankfurt (BL) 1992-93 34 0 Eintracht Frankfurt (BL) 1993-94 30 0 Eintracht Frankfurt (BL) 1994-95 19 0 Hamburg (BL) 1995-96 32 0 Bielefeld (Div. 2) 1996-97 27 0 Bielefeld (BL) #6 Andreas (Andi) KÖPKE (b. 1962) 59 A, Germany, Goalkeeper League runner-up 1999 World Cup winner 1990 Euro winner 1996 Euro finalist 1992 German Footballer 1993 One of the few internationally successful German goalkeepers that didn t achieve anything on domestic level. One of the best ever goalkeepers on the goalline, very strong in one-on-one situations and good fisting in the box. Unlike Oliver Kahn, Sepp Maier or Harald Schumacher, Andreas Köpke was not a temperamental goalkeeper but a sober, reticent Northern German who never looked for the limelight. He was voted German goalkeeper of the Year four times. 1979-80 1 0 Kiel (Div. 2) 1980-81 5 0 Kiel (Div. 2) 1981-82 - - Kiel (Div. 3) 1982-83 0 0 Charlottenburg (Div. 2) 1983-84 38 0 Charlottenburg (Div. 2) 1984-85 37 0 Hertha BSC (Div. 2) 1985-86 34 0 Hertha BSC (Div. 2) 1986-87 32 0 Nürnberg (BL) 1987-88 34 0 Nürnberg (BL) 1988-89 33 0 Nürnberg (BL) 1989-90 31 0 Nürnberg (BL) 1990-91 31 0 Nürnberg (BL) 1991-92 37 0 Nürnberg (BL) 1992-93 32 1 Nürnberg (BL) 1993-94 34 1 Nürnberg (BL)
1994-95 34 0 Eintracht Frankfurt (BL) 1995-96 32 0 Eintracht Frankfurt (BL) 1996-97 35 0 Marseille (France) 1997-98 29 0 Marseille (France) 1998-99 4 0 Marseille (France) 1998-99 16 0 Nürnberg (BL) 1999-00 31 0 Nürnberg (Div. 2) 2000-01 27 0 Nürnberg (Div. 2) #5 Harald (Toni) SCHUMACHER (b. 1954) 76 A, Germany, Goalkeeper League champion 1978, 1989, 1996 League runner-up 1982, 1991 Cup winner 1977, 1978, 1983 Cup finalist 1980, 1989 UEFA Cup finalist 1986 Euro winner 1980 World Cup finalist 1982, 1986 German Footballer 1984, 1986 Harald Toni Schumacher was one of the all-time best German goalkeepers but also the most controversial one. Schumacher was the blueprint of a kind of goalkeeper that would dominate the German goals during the 1980s and 1990s, a physically powerful athlete (due to bodybuilding) with an aggressive mind-set who was set out to intimidate his opponents, much like Oliver Kahn roughly 15 years later. Driven by an eerie ambition, Schumacher managed to sustain a very high performance level for roughly ten years and literally never had a notable drop in form during these years. Infamous for his malicious deliberate collision with French full back Patrick Battiston in the 1982 World Cup semi final, Schumacher since then is labeled as one of the most disliked bad guys in the annals of football and to this day this deed overshadows his great capability as one of the all-time greatest German goalkeepers who was exceptionally strong on the line but also very assured in controlling the box. A very outspoken and quite extrovert personality, Schumacher said after his retirement: I often deliberately collided with a wall. Sometimes I broke down the wall, sometimes the wall broke me down. 1972-73 0 0 Köln (BL) 1973-74 13 0 Köln (BL) 1974-75 34 0 Köln (BL) 1975-76 26 0 Köln (BL) 1976-77 27 0 Köln (BL) 1977-78 34 0 Köln (BL) 1978-79 34 0 Köln (BL) 1979-80 34 0 Köln (BL) 1980-81 34 0 Köln (BL) 1981-82 34 0 Köln (BL) 1982-83 34 0 Köln (BL) 1983-84 33 0 Köln (BL) 1984-85 34 0 Köln (BL) 1985-86 33 0 Köln (BL) 1987-87 18 0 Köln (BL)
1987-88 33 0 FC Schalke 04 (BL) 1988-89 35 0 Fenerbahce (Turkey) 1989-90 21 0 Fenerbahce (Turkey) 1990-91 28 0 Fenerbahce (Turkey) 1991-92 8 0 Bayern München (BL) 1992-95 - - retired 1995-96 1 0 Dortmund (BL) #4 Josef (Sepp) MAIER (b. 1944) 95 A, Germany, Goalkeeper League champion 1969, 1972, 1973, 1974 League runner-up 1970, 1971 Cup winner 1966, 1967, 1969, 1971 Champions Cup 1974, 1975, 1976 CWC winner 1967 World Cup winner 1974 Euro winner 1972 Euro finalist 1976 German Footballer 1975, 1977, 1978 When he was young, Josef Sepp Maier was an excellent gymnast, who managed to win youth titles at this sport. Parallel to his gymnastics, he had also started to play football, of course playing forward, as his dream was to become a great goalscorer. At the age of 15, he moved from his first club TSV Haar, a suburb of Munich, to Bayern. Soon after he arrived, the Bayern youth goalie got injured, and Maier was ordered by his coach Rudi Weiss to play goalie. Although he couldn`t keep his sheet clean in his first games, his performances were convincing, among them two saved penalties. From now on the goalkeeper position at the Bayern youth team was his, with Sepp immediately developing a passion for his new position. The following year, Eastern 1960, Maier already took part in the UEFA-Youth tournament in Portugal, where his coach would be Helmut Schön. Already in his first Bundesliga season, Maier excelled in his job between the goal posts, which led West Germany`s new manager Helmut Schön (successor to Sepp Herberger) to call up Maier to play for the national team in the spring of 1966, playing his first game for West Germany in Dublin against Ireland (4-0 win). Right after the 1966 World Cup, Schön decided to make Maier his number one keeper, making him replace the 32-year-old Hans Tilkowski. For the next 13 years, Maier remained West Germany`s first choice keeper, although there were periods where he was seriously challenged by a variety of other good keepers (most notably by Horst Wolter 1967-69, as well as Wolfgang Kleff and Bernd Franke in 1973).Like most great goalkeepers, Maier`s strength were enormous reflexes that allowed him to save even so-called unsavable shots and headers, and his experience at gymnastics at young age proved a great asset to his keeping. Added to his reflexes, he was also very movable in the air, a secure ball-catcher and a powerful jumper. He also mastered the goalkeeping job inside the penalty box, and was one of the first keepers in Germany that tried to catch high balls instead of fisting them, which often tended to be quite risky, and sometimes led to unnecessary goals and criticism from the media. Another weakness were sometimes lapses in concentration, mostly in less-important matches. Maier`s two greatest games for West Germany were those where it mattered most, the 1974 quasi-semi final against Poland and the legendary final against the Netherlands in Munich, when he played the game of his life in the second half, with the Dutch sending wave after wave of attack
against the German goal, none of them being able to score against Maier. He was determined to still keep Germany s and Bayern s goal at the age of 40 (which would have been 1984), but had to retire after a severe car crash in 1979. Outstanding is his record of 442 successive games in the Bundesliga for Bayern (between 1966 and 1979). 1962-63 4 0 Bayern München (Div. 1 South) 1963-64 23 0 Bayern München (Div. 2) 1964-65 36 0 Bayern München (Div. 2) 1965-66 31 0 Bayern München (BL) 1966-67 34 0 Bayern München (BL) 1967-68 34 0 Bayern München (BL) 1968-69 34 0 Bayern München (BL) 1969-70 34 0 Bayern München (BL) 1970-71 34 0 Bayern München (BL) 1971-72 34 0 Bayern München (BL) 1972-73 34 0 Bayern München (BL) 1973-74 34 0 Bayern München (BL) 1974-75 34 0 Bayern München (BL) 1975-76 34 0 Bayern München (BL) 1976-77 34 0 Bayern München (BL) 1977-78 34 0 Bayern München (BL) 1978-79 34 0 Bayern München (BL) #3 Oliver KAHN (b. 1969) 86 A, Germany, Goalkeeper League champion 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008 League runner-up 1996, 1998, 2004 Cup winner 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008 Cup finalist 1999 Champions Cup 2001 Champions Cup finalist 1999 Intercontinental Cup 2001 UEFA Cup 1996 Euro winner 1996 World Cup finalist 2002 German Footballer 2000, 2001 In his peak years Oliver Kahn was rated as the world s greatest goalkeeper. Already in his very early days in Karlsruhe Kahn was a very dominant person, a talent on the goalline with an exceptional jumping power, a mighty physical presence but with weaknesses when dealing with high balls. As Bayern s goalkeeper, Kahn reached a World Class level on the goalline and in oneon-one situations and with his commanding presence he also improved his weakness at dealing with high balls outside his goal. Technical flaws regarding his ball control with his feet remained unsolved however. Very notable was Kahn s extreme ambition which bordered on the psychological. He did not spare opponents nor teammates when he got into a furious rage about something. In his career he collected 17 trophies, was voted World Goalkeeper three times, European Goalkeeper four times and German Goalkeeper five times. His greatest game was doubtlessly the 2001 Champions League final vs. Valencia where he saved three penalties in the shoot-out. Kahn had a remarkable World Cup in 2002 when he guarded the goal of arguably one
of the worst ever German national teams. Only because of some really sensational saves was it possible for this team to reach the World Cup final, yet in the final itself he became a tragic figure when he couldn t save a shot by Rivaldo, instead allowed it to ricochet directly at the feet of Ronaldo who scored easily. Kahn is the only goalkeeper that was voted most valuable player at a World Cup tournament. 1987-88 2 0 Karlsruhe (BL) 1988-89 2 0 Karlsruhe (BL) 1989-90 0 0 Karlsruhe (BL) 1990-91 22 0 Karlsruhe (BL) 1991-92 37 0 Karlsruhe (BL) 1992-93 34 0 Karlsruhe (BL) 1993-94 31 0 Karlsruhe (BL) 1994-95 23 0 Bayern München (BL) 1995-96 32 0 Bayern München (BL) 1996-97 32 0 Bayern München (BL) 1997-98 34 0 Bayern München (BL) 1998-99 30 0 Bayern München (BL) 1999-00 27 0 Bayern München (BL) 2000-01 32 0 Bayern München (BL) 2001-02 32 0 Bayern München (BL) 2002-03 33 0 Bayern München (BL) 2003-04 33 0 Bayern München (BL) 2004-05 32 0 Bayern München (BL) 2005-06 31 0 Bayern München (BL) 2006-07 32 0 Bayern München (BL) 2007-08 26 0 Bayern München (BL) #2 Heinrich (Heiner) STUHLFAUTH (1896-1966) 21 A, Germany, Goalkeeper League champion 1920, 1921, 1924, 1925, 1927 League runner-up 1922 The first internationally acclaimed German footballer of genuine world class, Heiner Stuhlfauth was rated as one of the world's finest goalkeepers during the 1920s and was considered Germany's best ever keeper until the emergence of Sepp Maier some 40 years later. A goalkeeper of stoic calmness with a good eye and excellent positional play, at the same time bold and daring and a complete authority inside the box. Initially not a goalkeeper but an outfield player, the tall Stuhlfauth had very good skill on the ball which enabled him to fully function as a third back during the times of the pyramid. His technique was better than that of the two backs in front of him and probably on par with that of most forwards in his team. His most notable feature was that he regularly, whenever he saw it fit, stormed out of his goal to clear dangerous situations in a sweeper-like manner. Naturally this made him one of the most revered and loved players during the 1920s. The first expansive review of his abilities as a goalkeeper was issued by the Viennese press after his second cap for Germany in Vienna against Austria in 1920: "Stuhlfauth is a goalkeeping phenomenon, he has lifted the art of goalkeeping to a level that is close to perfection. He has everything that is demanded of a goalkeeper: tallness, quick reflexes, save catching and coldbloodedness. The way Stuhlfauth catches the ball is simply exemplary.. When he has to fist the
ball he does it with the same power as if he used his foot. The German is nerveless in an uncanny way, unknowable to common people. almost the whole game he was out of his goal playing along with the other players. The Germans thus had a third back and 11 th outfield player and the one with the strongest kick. None of the backs was as composed on the ground as Stuhlfauth, none managed such giant kicks as Stuhlfauth, yet his roaming around the pitch never looked out of place, his popping up here and there was always sense-making and on time so that it looked natural the longer the game went on. Stuhlfauth actively instigated the events instead of reacting to them. He proved that it is not necessary or beneficial for a goalkeeper to be tied to the goalline. In this respect many of the attending goalkeepers from Vienna will have benefitted from this. And those that didn't see it, please attend the next time Stuhlfauth is in town because much is to be learned from this man." So Stuhlfauth was a truly spectacular goalkeeper in this regard, yet he was strongly opposed to showboating when he was in his goal. Because of his great positioning, Stuhlfauth mostly was not in need to show off great diving saves. As his teammate Carl Riegel said: "He never switched off, he was always anticipating the next move." Stuhlfauth himself always pointed out his motto that "a good goalkeeper does not dive. When I had to dive or throw myself like a panther to parry a ball, I always asked myself what had gone wrong?" Instead, Stuhlfauth was intent on using his feet as often as his hands. Regarding his endeavours of leaving his penalty box pretty often, it was helpful that Stuhlfauth was a very fast runner and successfully competed in 100-metres-races in his adolescence. He was always trying to kill off dangerous moves as soon as he spotted them. For this purpose, Stuhlfauth did not hesitate to leave his box to storm forward as far as needed to block off a ball with his feet. Stuhlfauth himself described this method as follows: "Leaving the goal at the perfect time is something you cannot learn. Sometimes it depends on a fraction of a second to reach the ball faster than the forward. From the stands at first it often looks as if it was a mistake leaving the goal. But even when the ball is only 2-3 metres ahead of the forward and the goalkeeper is 15 metres away from the ball, if the goalkeeper estimates the distance correctly, he will reach the ball before the forward, because the ball is moving towards him already while the forward has to follow the ball. When I left my goal I guess that I have judged the situation correctly in 95 times out of 100. When my backs noticed that I was leaving the goal, immediately one of them ran into the goal for cover. Oftentimes I sprinted 20 or 30 metres towards the ball and intercepted the move by kicking the ball away. I advise goalkeepers to play as forwards in their club's secondstring side because a goalkeeper can only get better if he gets acquainted with an outfield role. Before I became a goalkeeper, I was playing as inside left myself for many years in my youth." Sportswriter Dr. Friedebert Becker reported that he often discussed fundamental matters of goalkeeping with Stuhlfauth. The questions they debated were "could a goalkeeper not do much more for his team? Does the goalkeeper actually properly exploit the special rights he is granted by the rules? Isn't the prejudice too strong that a goalkeeper has to stay on the line or inside his box and only in very special moments of danger shall leave his box?" In 1966, after Stuhlfauth's death, Dr. Becker wrote that Stuhlfauth was 50 years ahead of his time. To this day, his name is synonymous (together with the name of Hans Kalb) with the great epoch of 1. FC Nürnberg during the 1920s. He kept the Nürnberg goal in five German championship finals and managed not to concede a single goal in these five games (not counted is the 1922 final against Hamburg which did not see a winner). His international career was not as outstanding as his club career as his style of play demanded a very fine tuning with his teammates which often was not possible in the national team as the two backs were usually not Nürnberg players. Still, Stuhlfauth was considered a goalkeeper non-pareil within Germany and internationally he was rated as the best goalkeeper right behind the Spaniard Ricardo Zamora. His best game for Germany came in a 1929 friendly in Torino against Italy which Germany won 2-1 (this was the first time that Germany played the WM system). He was dubbed "sorcerer" by the Italian press due to his many incredible saves and one Italian headline read: "God himself stood in the German goal" while another paper wrote "the Devil guarded the German goal". Stuhlfauth retired in 1933 after 606 appearances for Nürnberg. In a 'Kicker' poll done in 1956 he was still rated as Germany's greatest ever goalkeeper. Senior clubs 1914-16 Pfeil Nürnberg 1916-33 1. FC Nürnberg
#1 Manuel NEUER (b. 1986) 74 A, Germany, Goalkeeper League champion 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 League runner-up 2007, 2010, 2012 Cup winner 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016 Champions Cup 2013 Intercontinental Cup 2013 World Cup winner 2014 Manuel Neuer is probably the most complete goalkeeper in German football history. Remarkably cold-blooded and cool and very quick in initiating his team's offensive endeavours. He is exceptionally strong on the goalline with his reflexes, in one-on-one situations, generally very competent and assured when he has to leave his goal and with outstanding skill on the ball. His presence in the goal is one of absolute dominance and self-confidence. If there has been a goalkeeper that could be classified as a 11 th outfield player it is Neuer. His long throws are exact and pinpoint over long distances and he can switch from saving a ball to opening a move within a matter of a second. Neuer was the first goalkeeper to directly assist a goal in a World Cup game when his long punt reached Miroslav Klose who scored the first goal in the game against England in the 2010 World Cup. Neuer's positional play is outstanding, it allows him to remain calm in any situation as he reads the game so well and hardly ever gets caught off guard and he shows no weakness when he has to interfere inside the penalty box to deal with high balls. Highly reliable and consistent, the combination of all these skills makes Neuer a goalkeeper of absolute world class level but what really sets him apart from all other German goalkeepers (save Heiner Stuhlfauth) is his hitherto unknown level of anticipation and decision-making when rushing out of the penalty box when his defense is caught off guard and he has to interfere using his whole body except his arms. This requires a constantly high level of attention, perfect timing and the willingness to take risks. Even in these highly dramatic instances he never loses his cool. His most famous and spectacular game in that regard is the one against Algeria at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, when he had to face many occasions when Algerian forwards advanced towards his goal with no German player to stop them around and each and everytime Neuer made the right decision in leaving his penalty box without any hesitation, acting like a sweeper in the moment of great danger. Outfield players always know they can pass the ball to Neuer in any situation, he will never be taken by surprise or fail to deal adequately with these backpasses. Sometimes Neuer has a higher successful passing quote than outfield players of the opposing team. His mental strength also allows him to come to terms with blunders rather well, he is not thrown off the track mentally which is an important asset. And it is really not easy for a player who is rated the best in the world in this position to commit a painful blunder because this will get scrutinized far more than when lesser players commit them. To be able to deal with such high pressure really sets a world class player apart from the rest. One could say that Neuer combines all the best traits of his predecessors but none of their flaws. His reflexes and authority on the goalline are equal to that of Sepp Maier and Oliver Kahn, he is as consistent and reliable as Toni Schumacher and also as authorative as Schumacher in dealing with high balls and his manoeurves outside the box are as spectacular, well-advised and competent as those of Heiner Stuhlfauth.